Julie Souza Bradley Lilly blogs at Prayers of a Ragamuffin Warrior and directs Gift of Thorns Facebook ministry. She is a devotion writer for VineWords: Devotions and More, and a contributing author to the devotional series Love Knots: Stories of Faith, Family, and Friendships, Volumes One, Two, and Three (VineWords Publishing). With thirty-plus years in healthcare, and through her own multiple injuries, PTSD, a traumatic brain injury, and other health concerns, she has found God to be true to His Word, in turning all things together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ~1 Peter 5:8 NIV Lions are beautiful, agile, and strong, with paws the size of dinner plates. A roar of the lion can be heard up to five miles away. Interestingly, however, the roaring lions are not the most dangerous. Lions roar as a warning to intruders, telling them they are entering claimed territory. Often, this role is delegated … Continue reading →
And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ~Matthew 4:19 ESV We find hope in this little verse—fifteen simple words that we can easily step over on our way to weightier passages. Jesus’s promise to make us fishers of people liberates us. With it comes the invitation to come as we are and be transformed. Fishing for others is a possibility. We don’t need to come equipped to be useful to God’s kingdom. … Continue reading →
The Lord’s ways are different than our ways. Sometimes He answers through Scripture, and sometimes he heals a blind man by making mud. Years ago, a man owned a barbershop near my office. One day, while walking past him on my way to the store, the Lord told me to stop and pray for him. I bristled at the thought. We didn’t know one other. Indeed, he would think I was a nut. I struggled and argued with the Lord … Continue reading →
He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.” ~Revelation 21:5 WMB On the heels of a hard or painful season, we often need to be kissed with hope before we can move on. The Challenge of Hope Most of us are alike. Things have died in one of our life’s seasons. Some things passed abruptly, while others languished away. Both can be … Continue reading →
About mid-morning, when I fast from food, I become hungry for bread, and my stomach growls. Images of tasty foods parade through my mind, trying to coax me to eat. Similarly, when my cellphone is dead, it surprises me how often I find myself reaching for it for one reason or another. We develop habits and hungers in our lives, and those habits drive us to feed whichever belly is gnawing with emptiness. We may fast from food for a … Continue reading →
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. ~2 Chronicles 16:9 NIV Sometimes we find ourselves discouraged, lost, afraid, or lonely. We search high and low, turning over every rock, looking for hope or rescue. We forget the eyes of the Lord are upon us. If we are seeking God’s help, we will find Him because He is also seeking us. There is reason to hope. The Lord … Continue reading →
It was 2020, and we were under a mandated shelter-in-place order. Unable to go into town except for emergencies, I made use of the time cleaning house. One morning, I felt a nudge in my heart from the Lord: “It’s time to clean house.” Only this time, it wasn’t about dirty dishes in the sink. Instead, I needed to clean out the closets of my heart. Every day we see more “signs of the times”—evidence that the return of the … Continue reading →
Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do. ~2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT God’s blessings are so generous that sometimes we need guardrails to tell us when we have enough and need to release some. When we do, we follow Jesus’s example by pouring out upon others. … Continue reading →
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” ~Psalm 91:14-15 NIV When life gets busy and chaotic, we are wise to stop everything and seek a piece of His mind—God’s mind. No Peace Circumstances shout, demanding our attention. Confusion creeps in. And when our … Continue reading →
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. ~James 5:16 NLT No one enjoys being caught red-handed. Children are magnificent little mirrors that reflect our unpolished hearts. Have you ever noticed a child who has done something wrong, but does not know others are observing? One of the first things they do is look around to see … Continue reading →
